Waterlands

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Spotted seatroutShoulder season

Bay · New York

Palmer Inlet

40.84°N · 73.82°W · Bay · Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY

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Best score today · 7 AM · Spotted seatrout

72/100Great
Now
307 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding3.5 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score30Fair
Tide3.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward WNW
Wind9 kn NEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateRough4.6 ft · 8 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy82% cloud
Water71°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spotted seatrout is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spotted seatrout is best here

Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder

Spotted seatrout season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Spotted seatrout in New York

Spot profile

Palmer Inlet

Depth
6-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · ProtectedInlet · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Palmer Inlet

Palmer Inlet is a bay in Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, New York. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, scup and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, Spanish mackerel and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Turtle Cove

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    77
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 77
    • Scup 76
    • Spot 75

    9 kt NEH 9:59 PM · 7.6 ftL 4:20 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Cuban Ledge

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Little tunny 66

    9 kt NEH 10:16 PM · 7.4 ftL 4:49 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Cherry Tree Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Scup 62
    • Bluefish 61

    9 kt NEH 10:16 PM · 7.4 ftL 4:49 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Eastchester Bay

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Little tunny 65
    • Sheepshead 64

    9 kt NEH 10:16 PM · 7.4 ftL 4:49 AM · 0.7 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NYSDEC before you keep a fish.